Shannon Rupp - Globe & Mail, 11.13.01:<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><B>Pity poor Petrouchka, upstaged by everybody</B><P>With Dumais's inventive choreography -- call it sensuous classical -- and powerful performances by Andrea Hodge and Edmond Kilpatrick, it should be a hit.<P>And it travels easily enough to be the showstopper in a tour -- if it weren't for one stunning bit of miscasting, or perhaps, misdirection, that led to James Russell Toth dancing an insignificant Petrouchka.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>To read more search <B>Shannon Rupp</B> on the <A HREF="http://www.globeandmail.com" TARGET=_blank>Globe & Mail's</A> 7 Day Search<P>

DENIS ARMSTRONG - Ottawa Sun, June 16, 2002:<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><B>A delicate balance<BR>Festival ends with stunning ballet battle</B><P>The organizers paired two renowned companies, Ballet B.C.'s Schubert and the National Ballet of Canada's A Delicate Battle, for their Ottawa premieres. <P>Sure, at times, I thought Alleyne's direction was a little heavy-handed and the choreography a tad traditional in such a hip and contemporary setting.<P>The only issue that A Delicate Battle left unresolved was that after taking me on such a thrilling ride, it left Schubert, which I had liked, now abused and utterly forgotten.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><B>more..</B> <BR><p>[This message has been edited by Marie (edited June 16, 2002).]

Jenny Jackson - Ottawa Citizen, June 17, 2002:<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><B>Ballet wins A Delicate Battle</B><P>Ballet British Columbia's John Alleyne reflected the composer's love of poetry and melody with intricate details, particularly in the eight dancers' arms, that played out like similes and stanzas, full of lush joie de vivre. Emily Molnar, in particular, brought a full-bodied pleasure to each gesture, her lovely arms gloriously articulate.<P>However, Ballet British Columbia's Petrouchka stole the show.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>[url=http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/story.asp?id={92EE0453-3109-44DF-83C1-058BE7D263F2}]<B>more...</B>[/url]<BR>

Ballet B.C. is about to kick off the Port Theatre’s fifth season with Orpheus, a full-length ballet. The classic tale is retold with choreography by John Alleyne and music adapted from Orpheus and Eurydice by Christoph Willibald van Gluck.

I have to admit I have never seen BBC do a full-length ballet. Has the company changed much in the last few years I wonder. The last time I saw them it was in a Forsythe piece. I forget the name of the ballet but it had a tree branch in the foreground and a little cottage in the back. Does anyone remember the name of that ballet?

Yes, Azlan, most likely it was The Vile Parody of Address -- I saw it a few seasons back....

I recall an amusing (and very Vancouver) sort of experience involving an audience member at a performance of Forsythe's Love Songs -- a very un-loverly sort of piece -- lots of tortured and toxic relationships. The company was either NBoC or RWB in the early '80s and the venue was the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver. As the house lights rose, a woman behind me stated, loudly and emphatically, "I do *not* come to the ballet to see violence against women!" And with this, she stalked off and did not return for the remaining third of the program....

It's an unapologetically romantic adaptation of Shakespeare's tale, an adroit mix of fantasy and whimsy. The choreography smoothly takes its cue from Henry Purcell's gossamer-like musical work from 1692, The Fairy Queen. And like modern theatrical productions of the play, this ballet staging doesn't hold back showing the sensuality (and lust) that motivates its characters' actions.

The Faerie Queen, created in 2000 for Ballet British Columbia, was the first full-length story ballet John Alleyne choreographed. Not only is he a choreographer, Alleyne is also the Artistic Director of the small chamber company of fourteen dancers, situated in Vancouver, Canada. The Faerie Queen is based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night's Dream (adapted by John Murrell), and is accompanied by Purcell’s baroque score The Fairy Queen (adapted by Michael Bushnell and Owen Underhill). Alleyne has divided the ballet into twenty-two short sections. The classically based but decidedly contemporary choreography flows smoothly, creating clever transitions from scene to scene. This is not a slapstick or bawdy version of the popular comic tale of romantic rendezvous’ gone awry. This version delivers cool sensuality tempered with wry wit.

The star of The Faerie Queen is undoubtedly Emily Molnar, who dances the role of Puck. As the fairy with a penchant for causing chaos, she doles out magic from the love-blossom flower to ensnare humans and fairies alike in amorous entanglements. Molnar is a commanding figure on stage. Not only is she curvier, and taller (measuring 5’11”), than the other female dancers in the company; her radiant characterization of Puck draws the audience in completely. She moves like quicksilver, flowing through Alleyne’s choreography with ease, making lighting fast transitions from dancing upright to slithering across the floor in the very next breath. It is also clear that Molnar is no slouch when airborne.

Acacia Schachte dances the central role of Hermia. She not only has exquisite lines and legs for days, she is a rock solid dancer. She and Jones Henry (Lysander) perform some first-class partnering. Former Alberta Ballet dancer, Kristen Dennis, is absolutely captivating. Her portrayal of Helena (who is in love with Demetrius, who is in love with Hermia, who is love with Lysander…) is animated and dynamic; it’s hard to take your eyes off of her.

John Alleyne has created some very satisfying ensemble choreography for the Woodland Fairies; the trios of men and women execute some particularly vivacious group work and the duets between the three couples are equally enjoyable. Andrea Hodge as Peaseblossom and Justin Peck as Will-o-the-Wisp (who has a wild, curly mop of hair – think American Idol) stand out in the second act as a result of their spirited and well-synched partnering. Dancing for Ballet BC since the early ‘90’s (previously with BalletMet), Hodge has a particularly gorgeous and supple upper body. She does double duty in Faerie Queen, portraying a noble Hippolyta in Act I.

My one gripe with this ballet centers on the two small children who portray Titania’s coveted human foundlings. They are cute the first couple of times they appear, but it seems as though they are herded about and on and off the stage exhaustively. Too young to perform any dancing, or even to walk themselves into the wings, they often take the focus away from the rest of the onstage action as they are handed off from dancer to dancer.

Although Faerie Queen is based on A Midsummer Night's Dream, the stage looks like a glittering winter landscape. Darren Waterson’s scenery consists primarily of a few delicate white branches arcing across the upstage syc like a larger than life Japanese bonsai. A few enormous flower blossoms puff out indulgently from the rocks to which the branches are anchored. In the final scene, long strands of hanging blossoms appear to snow petals gently down onto the stage.

Kim Nielsen’s costumes look more like fairy gossamer under the stage lights than they do in photographs, but the primarily monochromatic shades of whites and grays downplay the sensual nature of the ballet. Oberon’s magnificent long white cape does billow marvelously as he strides across the stage, but the pale leotards worn by the Woodland Fairies seem very restrained for magical creatures, particularly as the cast of human characters are also entirely clad in white. The whitish tights, cut off just above the knee, interrupt the lines of the dancers legs.

The only unreserved use of colour shows up in Jean-Phillipe Trépanier’s vibrant lighting design (adapted by Robert Sondergaard). The scrim is splashed with bright reds, the stage with brilliant turquoise blues. Dramatic purples represent the nocturnal heavens. On what would be an otherwise neutral stage, luxuriant environments are created.

The Montreal audience was completely enchanted by the magic of The Faerie Queen, with Ballet BC receiving a well-deserved standing ovation for their efforts.

It is a week to go before opening night, and John Alleyne is fretting about the end of his new ballet. This time, he says, he really means it: he doesn't know where he's going to find the time or the inspiration to get the piece finished.

The ballet in question is Scheherazade, Alleyne's reworking of the ancient collection of Persian-Indian-Arabian tales known as The Arabian Nights that so titillated Victorian society.

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